2 ms·

No, of course not. Obviously if a poor person spends up to 5% [0] of their income on lottery tickets that will have no impact on their financial situation at al

No, of course not. Obviously if a poor person spends up to 5% [0] of their income on lottery tickets that will have no impact on their financial situation at all. There's no way that changing that behavior could improve their life; 5% is just too small to matter. [0] https://fortune.com/2024/04/04/lottery-tickets-poor-rich-income-powerball-mega-millions-jackpot-odds-les-bernal-stop-predatory-gambling/ https://fortune.com/2024/04/04/lottery-tickets-poor-rich-inc...

1659447091 2y ago
From my experience*, the lottery tickets they buy most are scratch-off. And every once in awhile they spend $2 and win $15-$20 (or $13-$18) then use that to buy "luxury" items; cigarettes, beer, candy for the kids or tacos from a taqueria or were able to make an extra lay-away payment. They still (I assume) end up losing more in the long run, but instead of saving that $2 a few times week to be able to have the $20 at the end of the month, they get a little bit of enjoyment from a crap situation. It's more rewarding to be able to get the items they were not planning to have and a little treat, as opposed to the sheer depression of thinking, if they saved that $2-8 a week, then in a month they can buy treats for their kids... *Part of my childhood was living "on the other side of the tracks", my family wasn't rich, but we had more than many I went to school with. A much richer school district lines split the neighborhood - I wasn't on that side. Many kids at my school probably were in the poorest zipcodes. Most of them were on food-stamps and free-lunch, working parents (or parent); they didn't spend frivolously, goodwill, swap meets and garage sales is where their clothes came from. My direct experience was w/ couple families I spent time with and saw the result of winning scratch offs. That was when they would splurge on "luxuries". It was not about striking it rich and fantastical dreams of yachts; It was probably that experience which taught me the most about being practical and how to stretch a dollar.

1659447091 2y ago

From my experience*, the lottery tickets they buy most are scratch-off. And every once in awhile they spend $2 and win $15-$20 (or $13-$18) then use that to buy "luxury" items; cigarettes, beer, candy for the kids or tacos from a taqueria or were able to make an extra lay-away payment. They still (I assume) end up losing more in the long run, but instead of saving that $2 a few times week to be able to have the $20 at the end of the month, they get a little bit of enjoyment from a crap situation. It's more rewarding to be able to get the items they were not planning to have and a little treat, as opposed to the sheer depression of thinking, if they saved that $2-8 a week, then in a month they can buy treats for their kids... *Part of my childhood was living "on the other side of the tracks", my family wasn't rich, but we had more than many I went to school with. A much richer school district lines split the neighborhood - I wasn't on that side. Many kids at my school probably were in the poorest zipcodes. Most of them were on food-stamps and free-lunch, working parents (or parent); they didn't spend frivolously, goodwill, swap meets and garage sales is where their clothes came from. My direct experience was w/ couple families I spent time with and saw the result of winning scratch offs. That was when they would splurge on "luxuries". It was not about striking it rich and fantastical dreams of yachts; It was probably that experience which taught me the most about being practical and how to stretch a dollar.